Making a decision

In my first year out in the workforce after completing my apprenticeship I was employed by a large earthmoving contractor at a major gold mining operation. The maintenance superintendent was incapable of making a decision and this was detrimental to the whole engineering workshop.

I was told by the frontline supervisors to "make a decision and follow that decision through even if it is the wrong decision." This was great advice that I pretty much used throughout my working life, it mostly worked.

This doesn't mean make a rash decision on the spot without collecting all the necessary data, this means collect all the data and make an informed decision. Don't be indecisive, you soon lose the respect of people if you are indecisive.

The maintenance superintendent was replaced not too far into the project and a hard core guy brought in. I lacked respect for the indecisive maintenance superintendent and held immense respect for the guy who replaced him - this has stayed with me throughout my working life.

Aligning decision-making with values is relatively new in my industry; this is the value of learning leadership at a business school. You need to make ethical decisions, this is a prerequisite for any leadership position.

A business school such as Kellogg at North Western University equips graduates with such decision-making skills to make informed decisions required in modern business environments. Leadership and decision-making is a very important aspect to management development.